Hopping Not Hoping wins Shady Well Stakes in first try on turf

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Hopping Not Hoping ($27.80) gave jockey Jeffrey Alderson his first stakes win on Saturday at Woodbine in the $150,000 Shady Well, for Ontario-bred 2-year-old fillies.

Run over yielding turf, the field for the 6 1/2-furlong Shady Well was reduced to seven following the early-afternoon scratch of Mythical Mission.

Nerve Line and Reverse linked up on the lead as Hopping Not Hoping stalked along the rail, with Happy Is Lucky to her outside. Hopping Not Hoping found clear running in the No. 4 path in the stretch and then wore down the leaders late to score by a half-length in 1:20.44.

“She set me up perfectly,” said Alderson. “She was nice and relaxed. When we came into the stretch, a nice hole opened up, and she shot through. She really dug in hard. I love this filly.”

Nerve Line edged out Reverse for second, as the favored first-timer, Financial Recovery, rallied into traffic to finish a creditable fourth.

Hopping Not Hoping, a daughter of Silent Name, earned $90,000 in her stakes debut and first turf start. Trained by Barb Minshall, she is owned by the partnership of Murray Smith, Christopher Chop, and Katharin Von Gavel.

“Being a Silent Name, we thought she might like [the turf],” Minshall said. “The timing was right. We decided to take a shot. I really like this filly. She’s a real good mover.”